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Management Transfer at Crain & Schooley |
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EMC Business - A new generation is taking command of one of Perth's most long-established and successful businesses. Effective February 1, 2009, Richard Schooley retired as company president and turned over the reins to daughter Megan Schooley as part of a major restructuring. "From a personal standpoint I've got a tremendous amount of confidence in the new management team at Crain & Schooley", said Schooley, who has taken over a new role as chairman of the board of the Perth-based company, which also has offices in Almonte, Carleton Place, Kemptville, Smiths Falls and Ottawa. Megan was Personal Insurance Manager for the Perth and Smiths Falls offices but has worked at all the branch offices except Kemptville in her years with the company. "She’s sat in all the chairs" said Schooley. The reorganization also sees Jason Schooley move from vice-president to senior vice president in charge of business development. Peter Mast, who has been with Crain & Schooley since 1994, has taken on new responsibilities as senior vice-president for client relations. Comptroller George McLennan's role remains largely unchanged. He has been with the company since 1995. The final member of the new management team is Brandi Machan, manager of operations and information systems. "While we’ve changed things, the same people are still here and we’ve got some new people in management roles," said Schooley. The changes became necessary, he added, because the previous management structure needed to be flattened out. There were 12 to 14 people at the management table, and we were taking too long to make decisions. Initially triggered by Schooley's desire to hand over responsibilities for Commercial not personal insurance and later to retire as president, the process was facilitated by outside consultants. The consultants, starting last September, came up with "10 versions of an organizational chart" before coming up with a structure that was satisfactory, said Schooley. The new structure, he said, will be effective because the younger managers are mixed with experienced veterans such as Mast, who "has done it all in the organization" and ran his own company prior to the merger of Renwick Insurance in Carleton Place with Crain & Schooley. As well, Jason Schooley will be working with production manager Charlie Pilson, who joined the organization in November 2007 and is a veteran of another major insurance company. In his new role as chairman of the board, Schooley said "I've got a keen interest in what happens here," and stressed that his knowledge and experience are available to the new team when they need it. Schooley originally joined the firm in 1967 and became a partner 10 years later. He became president of the company in 1997. "When I first came to Perth there were five people in the insurance office," he recalled. "Forty years later there are 60 names on pay slips, and we have five offices." Schooley said the growth of the company over the years has been slow and steady, and has come about through a series of mergers and acquisitions. "The great enabler was Glenn Crain," said Schooley. "Glenn was very interested in business opportunities and business development." Crain, who died in 2008 after retiring in 2006, first entered the insurance business in 1953. Schooley recalled that Crain's uncle was a lumberman who told him he would either finance a university education for him, or give him enough money to start a business. "Glenn's mother was a teacher and his father by Glenn's description was a rock farmer", said Schooley. Crain opted for business rather than university and his first lesson, Schooley said, was that he paid too much for the first business he bought. The expansion of the company came about, Schooley said, because Crain "appreciated others" abilities and talents and put the money behind them to make it happen. In 1993, Al Warren joined Crain & Schooley when his insurance business was merged with the newly-incorporated Crain & Schooley Financial Corp., a sister company. The Financial Corp. business is principally based in Ottawa, and is run by Warren with partner John McCavour. The insurance company opened its branch offices in Almonte in 1980, Carleton Place in 1983, Smiths Falls in 1984 and Kemptville in 1987. The Kemptville office will move to a new location in the community March 16, 2009. Giving back to the community has been important to Schooley during his career. "My dad preached that you have to contribute; there’s no free ride," he said. Schooley's involvement has included one term on Perth Town Council, service on planning boards and the United Way, and presidency of the Rotary Club. He was also founding chair of the Perth Business Improvement Area (BIA) and founding chair of the Tay Tennis Club. He has been active at St. Paul's United Church and is a current member of the board of the Perth & Smiths Falls District Hospital. The company has been a donor to many area charities, and has encouraged staff to give not only money but time as well. The most recent community involvement for Crain & Schooley was the decision to promote education through sports. The company has committed $5,000 a year for five years for the new sports field at Perth and District Collegiate Institute. Having four Olympians from Perth last year proves this type of investment pays off, said Schooley. He said 17 of the company's staff are PDCI graduates, "so again, it's giving back." Schooley said he believes health care and education are the two cornerstones of any community worth living and investing in. As far as his personal plans for retirement, Schooley said he built a house two years ago in the country, "so there are lots of projects out there to do." As well, he has five grandchildren, "who are making me smile every time I look at them." | ||
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